Facing hegemonic masculine structures: experiences of gay men studying physical activity and sport science in Spain

ABSTRACT

This research is the first to provide insights into the experiences of gay men studying a university degree in Physical Activity and Sport Science (PASS) in Spain. Drawing on Bourdieu’s categories, one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 PASS students and ex-students that were subsequently studied through deductive-inductive thematic analysis. Our findings show the PASS context to be a heteronormative, masculinised and cisgender social field. Male homosexuality was almost invisible except when antigay language was used. Considering this environment, most of our interviewees chose to remain in the closet, which contributed to low levels of wellbeing and high levels of stress and anxiety. However, the few students that chose to come out experienced relief and felt included by some of their classmates and by staff. Discussed are key aspects of the dominant culture in PASS faculties and the repercussions for the mental health and wellbeing of gay students. Our research also provides new insights into the nature and prevalence of microaggressions regarding sexual orientation that will help PASS and university management develop specific strategies and programmes to foster inclusivity.

KEYWORDS:

• Gay
• higher education
• sport science
• symbolic violence
• heteronormativity
• hegemonic masculinity

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the participants for their availability and participation in this study, and the reviewers for their insightful and constructive comments on earlier drafts of this paper. The authors would also like to thank Anna Rovira and Duna Bosch for their help in transcribing some interviews. AV, PM: study design. AV, PM and JGQ: data collection. AV, PM: data analysis and interpretation. JGQ, IHA and IHT: critical friends. AV, PM, JGQ, IHA and IHT: manuscript preparation. AV: conceptualisation and funding procurement. All authors significantly contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics statement

This study was performed in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee for Clinical Research of the Catalan Sports Council (023/CEICGC/2021).

Notes

1 In different publications in English, this Spanish university degree has been referred to as Physical Activity and Sport Science (PASS), or Physical Education-Sport Tertiary Education (PESTE).

2 This category includes men who, regardless of their sexual orientation, externalise their gender expression as female or effeminate.

3 This onomatopoeic sound reflects the grunt of a primitive caveman or gorilla, associated with a person considered to be chauvinistic or ignorant.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation through its competitive call for R + D+i projects [grant code PID2019-108630-RA-I00] and by the Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya (INEFC).